The Kite
by tsuki-llama
Summary: The Office #5. Hei receives dating advice from Section Four.
1. Chapter 1

"C'mon man, she's not that scary, I promise," Kouno said in direct contradiction of all his previous warnings to Hei. "Just go up and knock, she won't bite your head off. Probably not. I mean, she wants the report, right?"

Hei realized that he'd been staring at the closed office door. "What? Oh, right. Yeah, I know."

"Don't stop to discuss it – just drop it off and turn around. Beer in twenty, remember? It's Friday night, I wanna get out of here at a decent time for once."

Saitou snorted from the other side of the low desk divider. "The beer will be there no matter what time we get off; it's not like you have a hot date or anything."

"You don't know that - I might."

"If you did, you would've spent the whole day bragging about it," Ootsuka muttered from her workstation without a single pause in her rapid keystrokes.

"Yeah, there's nothing about your personal life we don't know; you never shut up about it. You should be more like Li here - he doesn't go telling the whole world all about _his_ dating life."

"That's because he doesn't have one."

"Kouno!" Ootsuka exclaimed, indignant. She turned to face them. "Just because Li doesn't talk about private things at work doesn't mean he doesn't have a personal life."

"Come on, he would tell us if he was seeing someone! Sorry man," Kouno said to Hei, "don't mean to sound rude. You're quiet, but you're not some weird reclusive or anything. If you _were_ dating someone, you'd at least mention it, right?"

"Actually…I'm not sure," Hei said. _Was_ he so quiet that they didn't think he had any kind of life outside of work? He'd thought that he'd been making a real effort to be part of the team…

Saitou frowned. "You're not sure you would tell us?"

"No - I mean, I'm not sure if I'm dating someone?"

There was a long pause in which they all stared at him. Then Kouno said, "You mean like a friends with benefits thing?" He sounded surprised, and, Hei thought, slightly impressed.

"Not really. So far we've just gotten dinner a few times, after work."

Ootsuka leaned her chin on her hand. "So, more of a friendly meetup than a date. Do you _want_ it to be a date?"

"Well, yeah. I just don't really know how to ask if it is one, you know?"

"Hm," Ootsuka nodded. "Do you walk her home after?"

"No. We live in opposite directions, so that doesn't really work. Though last night she drove me home, because it was raining pretty hard."

"So you invited her in, right?" Kouno asked with a suggestive raise of one eyebrow.

Hei shook his head. It had been more than tempting; especially after the long - and thorough - goodbye they'd had in the car.

The place where he was living now was fine for him, but it was even more rundown than Umitsuki Apartments had been; at least Misuzu had always kept her property clean. _This_ place was rent-by-the-week; not somewhere Misaki would be comfortable. She had very tactfully refrained from commenting when they'd pulled up outside, but her lips had pressed into the flat line that meant that she was less than impressed.

"Not a hottie, then. Well, you're better off - hey!" Kouno broke off as Ootsuka swatted the back of his head.

"Li's a _gentleman_," she said. "I'm sure he wants to be respectful and not rush things."

Actually, Hei _wouldn't_ mind rushing things; that was the problem. Misaki was the best thing in his life; he wanted to do this _right_.

"I just want to do things the - the normal way, and see where it goes…" he said.

Kouno squinted. "What's the normal way?"

"I…don't really know."

Ootsuka held up a hand. "Have you kissed her yet?"

Hei nodded, feeling a slight blush warm his cheeks. He was slightly unnerved by all the attention; but at the same time, it was a bit of relief to talk to other people without needing to fear that he was giving too much of himself away.

"So, you've had a few ambiguous dinners; you've kissed," she ticked each point off on her fingers. "What you need next is some kind of outing, where you pick her up and drop her off. Something that's not dinner again, but more obviously a _date _date."

"Well…I had been thinking about asking her to go to a neighborhood festival with me."

"Perfect! When is it?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. And you haven't asked her yet?" Oostuka looked aghast; Saitou laughed.

"There's still plenty of time - Li can call her after we leave the bar."

"Saitou, you don't understand." Kouno waved his hand airily. "Women need time to plan for these sorts of things. What outfit are they going to wear? Do they have to go shopping? How long will they need to do their hair?"

"Kouno, you're awful," Ootsuka huffed. "I just meant, she might have made other plans already. And then she'll be disappointed that she can't go with Li. And if she says no, then how does he know that she really does have other plans, or she just doesn't want to go?"

"I don't even know if she'd like the festival," he said quietly. "I mean, I think she will; but what if she says yes just to make me happy, but really she hates it?" He didn't think Misaki would go quite that far, but still. And Ootsuka did have a point. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Is dating always this hard?"

"Yes," said Ootsuka and Saitou at the same time Kouno said, "No."

"Think of the last time you asked a girl out," Ootsuka said, shooting Kouno an annoyed glare. "Was it easy then?"

Hei's brow wrinkled in thought.

"How did you do it?" she prompted.

"I arranged to bump into her on a deserted street when she was emotionally distraught after my apparent death," he said.

They stared.

"Dark," Kouno said at last.

Hei coughed. "That was, uh, a joke. I just, um, asked if she wanted to go stargazing," he lied.

Ootsuka smiled at him. "See, it's easy. Just don't be afraid, and ask."

"I'm working myself up to it," he muttered, refraining from stealing another glance at the door.

"You're all still here?" Misaki asked, and it was all Hei could do to keep from jumping out of his skin. How had she left the office without him hearing?

"Just getting ready to head out," Saitou told her. "We're all going for a beer at that place down the street."

"Oh. All of you?" Was it his imagination, or was there a note of disappointment in her voice? They hadn't made express plans to eat that night.

Saitou chuckled. "We finally convinced Li to come with us. You know you're always invited too, Chief."

"I still have a lot of work to finish up tonight," Misaki said curtly. Then she gave Hei a significant look. "You have something for me?"

He stared blankly; her gaze flicked down to the paper still grasped in his hand. "Oh, the report. Yeah. Here."

"You're awfully distracted this evening." She frowned as she took the page, then sat down at the database computer at the end of the row of desks and logged on. "Is something on?"

"He's fine," Saitou said. "Just nervous about asking out a girl he's been seeing. We're giving him advice."

Hei suddenly wished that the floor would open up and swallow him; he'd known a contractor who could do that.

"Oh?" Misaki said, not looking up from the computer monitor. "I'm not sure listening to these guys about dating is a great idea, Li."

"C'mon, Chief, we give great advice!" Kouno protested.

"Where are you taking this girl?" Misaki asked. As always, her face gave nothing away.

"Um, well, there's a kite festival in Chuo park tomorrow; I was going to ask if she'd like to go."

Misaki blinked. "Chuo? That's in my neighborhood - I didn't know there was a festival tomorrow."

Hei smiled to himself; he wasn't surprised. "According to my sources, there is."

"Kites? That's actually a fun idea; I haven't flown a kite since I was a kid…"

"See, even the Chief thinks it's a good idea," Ootsuka told him with a smile. "Just call her, I'm sure she'll say yes."

"A daytime thing though?" Kouno said. "I dunno man, that's a long time to keep a chick entertained, especially if she's expecting to get dinner out of it."

"Well, I was thinking of picking her up around one; that way she has the morning to get some work done, if she wants."

"That's very considerate of you," Misaki said as she clicked through the database.

Saitou snorted. "Work? On a Saturday? Is this girl as much a workaholic as the Chief or something?"

"Li's got the right idea though," Kouno said. "Later in the day is definitely better. Hey, you should offer to pick up takeout and eat at her place when you bring her home - best way to get lucky!"

"Uh…" Hei could feel his ears burning; he _definitely_ did not turn towards Misaki. Where was a floor-opening contractor when you needed one?

"Kouno, Li isn't crass like that!"

"Why waste a perfectly good opportunity, is all I am saying."

"Hm," Misaki said; Hei's heart skipped a beat. "I think if you really want to get lucky, you should offer to cook, instead of takeout."

"Actually, I have been wanting to cook for her again for a while now," Hei said. Maybe a hole in the floor wasn't necessary after all.

"Aw, that's so romantic!" Ootsuka sighed.

"I dunno, sets a pretty high precedent," Kouno cautioned. "Cook for her once, she's going to be expecting it _every _time. Make sure it's worth it."

"She's worth it," Hei said simply. A glance towards the database computer showed Misaki's cheeks turning slightly pink.

She shut off the monitor and stood. "Well, have a good time at the bar; maybe I'll join you next time. See you all on Monday." With that, she returned to her office and shut the door.

"Yeah right, like she'll ever show up," Kouno snorted.

"Eh, maybe one day. I have faith," Saitou said.

Hei's cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at the screen to see a text from Misaki.

_— 1pm tomorrow is perfect_

He quickly typed back:

— _Should I plan on picking up supplies, or are we eating frozen fries?_

"Anyway, there's nothing to worry about, Li," Ootsuka said. "Just call her; I'm sure it will be fine."

His phone buzzed twice more.

— _Yes please_

_— Shut up_

He smiled. "Yeah. I think you're right."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow," was the only word that made it out of Hei's mouth when Misaki opened her door.

She frowned and smoothed down the front of her sleeveless, blue and white striped summer dress. "It's too much, isn't it. I bought it last year because it was on sale and looked cute; but I've never worn it. And now that I have it on, I feel a little silly."

"You look amazing," Hei told her.

"Do you think so?"

She'd also done something different with her hair: instead of a long tail running down her back, she'd twisted it and pulled it up in a clip behind her head, exposing the smooth skin of her neck. It gave her an elegant, almost carefree look, a side of her that he never saw at the office.

Though it was spoiled somewhat by the suspicious frown on her face.

"Of course. I promised not to lie to you at my interview, remember?"

"That was for the job."

"That was for you."

A faint blush rose up in Misaki's cheeks. "Well, anyway," she said. "It'll take too much time to change; we should go." She slung her purse over her shoulder, then stepped out and locked her apartment door.

Taking a deep breath, Hei turned with her down the hall.

He had spent all morning trying to convince himself that he wasn't nervous about this afternoon. He hadn't been able to get Kouno's words out his head - not that he put much stock in his co-worker's dating advice. Far from it.

But this _would_ be the longest that Hei had ever spent with Misaki outside of work. The longest he'd ever been alone with her; even their meetings when he'd been her CI hadn't lasted more than a couple of hours at most.

During many sleepless nights in the past year, he'd been unable to stop himself from wondering _why_. Why had she allowed herself to give in to his impulse that night? _Was_ there something more than just a physical attraction between them? The fact that she'd agreed to go out with him at all would suggest that yes, there was - or that at least she was willing to find out. But how would that change once she actually got to know him, and realized that the killer in him could never truly be erased?

And then there was his total lack of dating experience as, well, himself. Surely she'd have been on many dates in the past; would she spot that he had absolutely no clue what he was doing?

Worse, what if she found him…boring?

"A thought occurred to me this morning," Misaki said as they entered the elevator, startling him back to the present. "You never asked for my address yesterday. You're lucky that you remembered correctly - and that I didn't move in the last year."

Her hand that wasn't resting on her purse hung loose by her side. Even without looking down, Hei was intensely aware of it. Was it too soon in the date to reach out and wrap his fingers around hers? Too soon in the relationship?

There had been an unspoken _no touching_ policy during the handful of dinners that they'd been on so far; it _was_ a little awkward, going straight from the office together in a neighborhood where their co-workers were likely to be. And Misaki didn't seem like the type to welcome affection in public. They'd kissed goodnight each time, but only once they were back at Misaki's car and ready to go their separate ways.

But with each kiss, Hei found himself craving even the slightest touch from her more and more.

"I knew you were still living here," he said distractedly.

An amused smile brushed her lips. "I did notice from the Astronomics report that you were in town a full week before you put in your application. Recon?"

"Old habit, I guess. Sorry. I didn't break in or anything," he added hurriedly. "I just watched the parking garage entrance until I saw you drive in. Then I left."

She laughed, and he couldn't help but smile. "I know you wouldn't break in, don't worry. But what exactly did you need to find out? Were you worried there might still be Syndicate in the city?"

They stepped out into the hot August afternoon. Hei had always hated heat and humidity; it reminded him too much of his deployment in Brazil. But the way the breeze played with the hem of Misaki's knee-length skirt was enough to push those memories to the back of his mind.

"Stupid dress," she muttered, pressing a hand against her thigh to hold the skirt down.

"Do you want to go back and change?"

She glanced at him, her expression soft yet unreadable. "No, it's okay. Once we get to the park and away from these buildings, I'm sure the gusts won't be as bad."

Briefly Hei wondered why she'd chosen to wear the dress if it made her so uncomfortable; then it occurred to him that she might be just as anxious as he was today, as unlikely as that seemed.

"Alright," he told her, before answering her question. "I wasn't worried about the Syndicate; I know they're gone. I just needed to know if you were still serious about hiring a contractor, and get any information I could about the job posting. And…I wanted to get a feel for Section Four. Who belonged to the team, what they were like, how they worked together. Whether or not it might be possible for me to fit in."

"That sounds reasonable," Misaki said, to his relief. "But why stake out my apartment? I'm at the office more often than I'm home. I'm sure you knew that even before we started working together."

Hei hesitated. He had no idea how to explain why the very first place he'd visited upon arriving back in Tokyo had been _her _place. Not without sounding like a creepy stalker, anyway.

Which, for all he knew, he was.

"Ask me later," he said at last.

Misaki cast him a curious glance, but she nodded, and Hei once again could only marvel at the amount of trust she was willing to place in him.

"Oh!" she gasped suddenly, and pointed.

They'd just rounded a tall office building. The verdant trees of Chuo Park were now in view - along with a hundred rainbow-colored, fluttering shapes filling the sky above them.

"I've never seen so many kites in my life!" Misaki marveled.

"You've never been to the festival before?" Hei asked, pleased that she was so excited.

"I never knew about it."

"It happens every year."

Misaki shook her head, gazing around at the tents and booths that lined the park's paths. "That can't be true."

"No lies, remember?"

She laughed. "I guess I really do need to get out more. Oh, look at that one, it looks just like a bumblebee!"

A little dazed by her smile, he followed her into the park.

They spent the afternoon wandering around the festival, visiting vendors selling everything from kite string and spools to t-shirts and books. Misaki was delighted by the huge variety of kites, her neck constantly craning up to watch them flying. There was every shape and size, from simple, solid-colored diamonds to elaborate dragons, lions, and birds with a multitude of ribbons streaming out behind them.

For Hei, the sight of the kites sent a bittersweet twinge through his heart; he focused instead on watching Misaki. At their dinners, she'd laughed much more easily than she ever did around their co-workers; yet today was the first time he'd seen her outright _enjoy_ herself.

"What is it?" Misaki said, self-consciously tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Hei realized that he'd been staring. "Nothing."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep himself from pulling her hair free of its clip entirely, to run his hands through her silky strands and watch the wind play with them. "I'm just glad you're having fun."

"My dad used to take me to the park to fly kites in the summer," she said with a smile as they paused for a group of shouting, laughing children to run past, ribbons and streamers fluttering behind them. "Before my mom got sick. Those are some of my best memories from when I was a kid. I had a kite that looked like an open book when it flew; I loved it."

"My grandfather taught me and my sister to make our own kites."

"Really? I'm jealous, that must have been so - Hei, are you alright? You look a little pale…"

"Fine," he forced himself to say. It felt as if a band was tightening around his chest. "It's just a little humid today."

"It is - let's go visit some more booths and get out of the sun."

They spent the next hour or so meandering through the vendor stalls. Hei bought them raspberry mochi from a little cart next to a booth that was selling the most fanciful designs that they'd seen yet. A blue and green iridescent peacock-shaped kite caught Misaki's eye; Hei didn't miss the longing in her gaze as she brushed the feathers with her fingertips.

"How much?" Hei asked the stall owner.

"No, Hei, you can't!" Misaki protested. The mochi had stained her lips a darker red. Hei quickly shifted his gaze to the kite, his heart beating a bit faster than it should.

"I want to."

"It's too expensive - and too beautiful to collect dust in the back of my closet. It's not like I actually have time fly kites these days."

"If you _had _one to fly, maybe you'd make the time for it." He doubted that; but he did want to do something special for her.

Misaki pursed her lips; then her face abruptly lit up. "I know something better." With that she grabbed his hand and towed him out of the stall. Caught completely off guard, Hei had no choice but to follow her across the path to another cloth-covered booth.

"You can help me make one."

Hei gazed around the tent. They were the only adults amid half a dozen children busy gluing sticks and paper together, but the woman running the stall didn't seem to mind. She led them to two adjacent mats next to a long, low work table littered with supplies.

They both moved to sit - then both glanced down at their clasped hands. Misaki smiled almost shyly; she gave his hand a brief squeeze and allowed him to help her lower herself to the ground. Hei followed suit, his skin tingling where her touch had lingered.

The mats faced away from the open entrance to the tent. It set an itch between Hei's shoulder blades, having his back exposed to a large, unknown crowd. He focused instead on helping Misaki put together her kite; it helped. Especially as Misaki's attention to detail turned out to be just as aggressive during arts and crafts as it was in policework.

He really shouldn't have been surprised, Hei thought to himself as, muttering under her breath, Misaki disassembled her wooden frame for the third time in another attempt line up the sticks perfectly.

She let him choose the paper - he carefully taped together a pattern of blue and white stripes, to match her dress.

"Will you actually take some time off to relax, now that you have your own kite?" Hei asked as they stopped by the central lawn, where a fighting competition was in full swing.

Misaki tapped her new kite idly against her leg as she watched the competitors swooping and diving above them. Her other hand was wrapped warmly in Hei's. "I think so. If I have someone to come fly it with me. _Yes_ \- go - oh, damn," she said as a black and white kite fluttered to the ground, its string cut. "I was rooting for that one."

"Why? You don't know any of the competitors, do you?"

The crowd was pressing in close around them as the final round began. The itch between Hei's shoulder blades was back, even stronger than it had been before. He was finding it harder and harder to ignore.

Misaki shrugged. "No. I just liked it, that's all." She glanced up at him, and Hei felt her fingers tighten around his. "Let's go walk around some more."

They wandered to the very edge of the park, where the crowds were thinner. Hei wasn't sure if it was the fact that there were fewer people here, or that Misaki hadn't let go of his hand; either way, it was much easier to breathe, and the heat no longer felt so oppressive. Or maybe it simply that the sun was finally sinking below the horizon, casting bands of brilliant orange and pink into the sky.

The breeze had picked up again with the lessening of the heat; Hei tossed the paper kite into the air while Misaki controlled the string and spool, her skirt fluttering around her knees. Once it was flying, the blue stripes nearly vanishing in the deep blue of the hastening twilight, they found an unoccupied patch of grass and sat, hands resting side by side on the earth. She kicked off her sandals and scrunched her toes into the grass; Hei reached over and wove his fingers between hers.

"Your grandfather taught you well," Misaki said, watching the distant form with a smile. "It's flying beautifully."

"You're the one who put it together."

"I had expert help." She turned her smile to him; then her expression grew a shade more serious. "Will you tell me what was wrong, earlier? At the competition?"

"Nothing was wrong."

"No lies, remember?" Her voice softened. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. But something _was_ bothering you - I could tell. Please don't try and pretend that it wasn't."

Hei gazed up at the kite as it drifted a little east, the string growing taut. "It was just the crowd," he said at last. "The longer I spend around large groups of people like that, the more on edge I get. Too many years of covert ops, I guess."

Misaki looked at him for a long moment. "I keep forgetting how different your life has been," she said. "People tease me all the time about not being able to leave work at work, but…I could if I choose to. You've never had that luxury. It must be hard."

Hei shrugged and ran his thumb over her knuckles. "It was normal, for me. And now I have that choice, too; it'll just take some time to adjust." He hoped, anyway.

"Well, if I ever push too hard on something, or make assumptions where I shouldn't, let me know. I don't want you to feel like you have to pretend everything is fine when you're actually uncomfortable. Like the whole photo thing - I should have realized that taking a picture for the directory wouldn't be easy for you, but things like that are so normal for me…I didn't think."

"You didn't give me a hard time about it; don't worry."

"Still. I want to be considerate. So just tell me when something that's normal for me is new for you."

"Like this?"

She gave him a blank look. "Like what?"

Hei stared up at the kite, now nearly invisible in the darkening sky. A few stars were already visible, his among them. "This is the first real date I've ever been on."

"What? You're kidding, right?"

He shook his head. "So I don't really have a frame of reference to know if it's going well. It is going well, right?"

Misaki laughed lightly, and leaned against his shoulder. "Yes. It's going well. And if you want it to go _especially _well…"

"Dinner?"

"Dinner."

They stood together, her arm wrapped around his as he reeled in the kite.


	3. Chapter 3

I am alive, don't worry! (Thank you to those of you who sent messages to check up on me; I appreciated it). I truly did not intend to go so long between updates; but between work, travel, travel for work, and a couple of minor medical issues, I just haven't had the time or energy to get much writing done.

I don't have an ETA on the next Shifu chapters, for the reasons above; but I promise I am working on it.

Off topic, I have a book rec for you all: Age of Assassins, by RJ Barker. I think a story about a child assassin finding friends and family in the world might appeal to this audience. For Some Reason.

* * *

"That was the most stressful shopping trip I've ever been on," Misaki said as she slipped her shoes off just inside the door. She carried her new kite in one hand while a bag of groceries hung from the crook of her elbow. Hei stepped out of his own sneakers, trying not to notice how natural they looked, resting in the tray next to Misaki's sandals and work shoes.

Her apartment looked nearly the same as it had a year ago - the only difference that he could spot was that the bookcase seemed to be a little more full. And hadn't there been a dying plant by the window? If there had, it was gone now. He wasn't surprised that she hadn't replaced it.

Misaki stepped into the living room; Hei watched as she gazed around the space before propping the kite up against the bookcase.

"I'll find a more permanent place later; but that should be good for now. It'll remind me to actually get out and fly it, anyway," she said with a smile.

For Hei, home had always been merely the place that he slept. Wistfully he wondered what it would be like to live in the same apartment for longer than a few months, accumulate knickknacks and the detritus of life. Purchase actual furniture. He wondered if he would be any better than Misaki at taking care of a plant.

With a start he realized that, with a regular job in Section Four, he could actually find out. Maybe it was time to give up his rent-by-the-week place and look for a real apartment…

Misaki had disappeared into the kitchen with the grocery bag. Hei gave himself a mental shake and followed with the rest.

"How was that stressful?" he asked. "It was empty enough that I could keep track of everyone in the store. The shelves would have provided good cover if necessary; and there was a partition masking the rear exit. I was pretty relaxed."

Misaki cast him a wistful gaze. "I hate that you have to think about that kind of thing even for something as simple as grocery shopping. But potential ambushes aside - we didn't have a list!"

"A list of what?"

She gestured to the bags on the counter in front of them. "A list of groceries!"

Hei regarded the bags blankly. Lists were for checking off names of potential undercover operatives or for assembling vital tactical supplies - not for buying food.

"Are you sure we didn't forget anything?" Misaki continued.

"No."

He had to smile at her horrified expression. "We're making a meal, not building a delicate explosive device."

"I'm not even going to ask what you know about building bombs. But it's so easy to overlook something basic." Her brow creased in sudden worry as she cast her gaze around the kitchen. "Like cooking oil - you didn't ask if I have any cooking oil. I'm not sure if I do… We need that, right?"

Hei fished around in the plastic bags until he found the bottle of oil. "No, I didn't ask. I assumed. I grabbed it while you were still deciding which bell peppers you wanted." After peanut butter, rice noodles, vinegar, and sugar had all yielded a blank look when he'd asked if she had any at home, lack of cooking oil as well had seemed like a safe assumption.

"Oh, good. I still think you should let me help pay for some of this."

"It's fine. I can take home what we don't use. Or leave it here. In case you need it."

She snorted. "As long as it's not something that will go bad. Is there anything I can help with?"

Hei surveyed the array of ingredients on the counter. He'd never cooked _with_ anyone before. The last time - last year - Misaki had been content to watch him rather than lend a hand. "Do you want to dice the peppers?"

"Sure. How?"

"How? I mean…a knife?"

"Right, but…how?"

Her expression must be exactly how he'd looked the first time she'd asked him to make a spreadsheet, Hei thought with an inward wry smile. He hoped that he was doing a better job of keeping a straight face than she had.

"I'll show you, don't worry."

The cutting board and knives were exactly where Hei remembered them to be: in the drawer next to the sink, beneath a stack of takeout menus. They were an excellent brand of knife; but, as last year, they were all thrown together in a confused jumble. Hei tested the edge of each one until he found one that might be serviceable.

"First you cut off the bottom." He demonstrated, noting with a twinge of annoyance a slight resistance from the skin of the bell pepper.

"What's wrong?"

Hei glanced up, and was surprised to find her gaze on him rather than the pepper. "Wrong?"

"You made a face."

He was sure he hadn't made a face, but Misaki's gaze didn't flinch. She folded her arms.

"The blade's a little dull, that's all," he admitted with a shrug. "When's the last time you sharpened it?"

Even as he said it, he knew it was a stupid question. Misaki's brow furrowed. "Why would I need to sharpen it? I never use it, except to open those awful plastic packages sometimes." She abruptly burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, but your face right now!"

"I knew it," Hei muttered; but he was hard-pressed to suppress a smile.

Misaki squeezed his arm. "You can teach me how to sharpen them next time. Let's finish the pepper."

She already wanted there to be a next time? Hei had no expectations for tonight - hopes, certainly. He just wasn't sure what the normal outcome to expect from a first date was, and he didn't want to make any false assumptions and get things wrong. But if the evening ended and there was the promise of a second date on the horizon, he'd be more than happy.

"Only if you promise never to open plastic with a knife again," he said.

"Deal. Now come on, the pepper."

Despite her protestations that she wanted to help, Misaki wasn't actually very helpful. He'd known that she didn't have much practice with basic cooking skills, but it turned out that his definition of _basic_ was very different from hers. He had to demonstrate every task first, and even that didn't guarantee that Misaki would remember it well enough to do on her own.

Even more challenging was well, simply her presence next to him. He kept finding himself focusing on the graceful curve of her neck and shoulders, or a loose tendril of hair, rather than on his knife. After the second time that he nearly sliced his finger open, he had to step away and start preparing the noodles, leaving her to finish cutting up the vegetables as best she could manage.

It also didn't help that his Japanese vocabulary was missing a few key culinary terms.

"Hei, you did not just tell me to cut the chili's throat!" Misaki said through a fit of laughter.

"I don't know the word," he protested. He set aside the noodles. "This - what is this?"

"Stem. You want me to slice off the stem?"

"Sure, I guess? Here, I'll show you." He sliced the stem himself while she watched, hand over her mouth to stop her giggles.

"Another member of the pepper family falls victim to the Black Reaper's blade," Misaki said from behind her hand.

Hei set down the knife with a _clack_. "Now you're just making fun of me." He tried to sound harsh, but was sure that the smile threatening to break free betrayed him.

"I'm sorry," Misaki said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Sometimes I forget that Japanese is your second language…"

"Third, technically."

"Mm hm - well, I can't even cook in one language, let alone three."

"I could teach you Mandarin, if you'd like. You still wouldn't be able to cook"- she slapped his arm playfully - "but maybe you could help keep me from committing any more vegetable murders."

"Really? I would like that, actually."

Some unnameable emotion sped through his heart at the thought of being able to speak with her in his own native language, the one he'd grown up with but had so little reason to use any longer. He'd never really thought about it before; but now, he realized that he did miss it a bit. English and Japanese were the languages he worked in; Mandarin was for family.

Misaki laid her palm gently on his chest. "And I'll stop making fun of you, if it bothers you."

He placed his hand atop her hers, slipping his thumb beneath her fingers. "It doesn't bother me."

"Are you sure?"

He wasn't sure they could stand any closer, but he was willing to try. Reaching up with his other hand, he undid her hair clip, sending her long chestnut hair in a cascade down her back. "No one's ever been confident enough to tease me like that. I like it."

She smiled as he ran his fingers through her hair, her gaze melting into his. "Good." Sighing softly she added, almost to herself, "Why does seeing you in my kitchen turn me on so much…"

Hei's heart was pounding in his chest. "Is it the knives?"

Misaki's face lit up in a laugh - and then he was kissing her, long and slow and sweet, like he'd been dreaming of doing for months. Misaki leaned into him, her arms snaking around his neck to pull him closer. He let his hand trail down her back, following the wave of her hair, then skim down her hip to the hem of her skirt at her knee.

She made a hungry sound at the back of her throat; that was all the encouragement he needed to slip both hands up the smooth skin of her thighs to cup her silk-clad rear. Then scooping her up, her set on the counter, nearly knocking the cutting board full of diced peppers to the kitchen floor in the process.

Misaki laughed again, flushed and breathless, her skirt pooled around her waist. Hei had never seen her looking more beautiful than she did right at that moment. He leaned in to kiss her again - but she placed a light hand on his chest.

"Wait."

He froze, inwardly cursing himself. He'd _known_ he was going to screw something up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just…can I ask you something?" She was gazing at her own hand where it rested just over his heart.

"Of course. Anything."

"I just want to know why. Why me, I mean."

He blinked, nonplussed. "Why you…what?" She sounded so awkward and uncomfortable, completely different from the Misaki that he knew.

Her fingers played absently with a loose thread on one of his shirt buttons. "I know what I'm like to date; I'm married to my work, I'm demanding, I don't make time for relationships. I'm definitely not the prettiest woman out there -"

"You are," Hei interrupted, unable to understand how she could be so hard on herself and unwilling to let her believe something so untrue.

She blushed a little at his words, but continued, "Most guys give up on me by the second date. And that's usually fine, because they haven't been worth it anyway. And they obviously didn't think _I_ was worth it. But we've been working together long enough, I'm sure you already know all this about me. And you - you're sweet, and kind, not to mention amazingly good-looking. You could have anyone you want."

She thought he was kind? She _knew _who he was, knew some of the terrible things that he'd done. It seemed inconceivable that she could believe that of him, with all she knew already. But this was Misaki; if there was one thing he could be sure of, it was her honesty.

"I want you."

"Obviously," she said with a wry smile, squeezing her legs around his and reminding him of just how flush their bodies were.

Then her smile slipped a little. "I just don't want to jump into anything with the wrong expectations. It's convenient because we work together, and you don't have to stress about me finding out who you are, because I already know. And that's fine; we can have fun, and when you're ready to move on, we can. But it's been a long time since I've gone out with anyone who, well, I've felt like is worth sharing a piece of my life with. Like you. I want to make sure we can be honest about what we both want, up front."

She took a deep breath, finally meeting his eyes. "So, you're here, with me. Why?"

Hei was good with languages; he'd never been particularly good with words. How could she possibly think she was only a convenience to him? He could hardly think, lost in her warm brown eyes.

"My family used to have a small house in the mountains, by a lake," he said at last. "In the summer my dad and I would spend every night down there, stargazing. There was one night I went back to the house for something; I didn't take a light because I knew the way, but on the way back I made a wrong turn and ended up on a trail I didn't recognize in the dark. I started to panic until I remembered something that my dad had told me once: if I was ever lost, to look for the north star and use it to guide my path. I found the star; it told me I was going east when I should have been heading south. So I turned, found the right path, and there was my dad, waiting for me on the shore."

He took a slow breath; Misaki's gaze hadn't left his. "Then the stars changed. The north star is gone now, and none of the fake ones stay in place for long enough to trust them as a guide. But it didn't really matter, because all I had to do was follow the Syndicate's orders. When I finally came back to Tokyo, I had no idea if I was making the right choice or not; if I was even in the right place.

"You asked me why I went to your apartment for my recon instead of the office. The first thing I did when I got off the train from Yokohama was look for you. It was late, so I guessed you would either be at home, or on your way there soon. I waited until I saw you drive in. As soon as I saw you, I knew I was where I needed to be.

"It just feels like…as long as you're in my life, I'll know which path to take. You're my guiding star."

He had no idea if what he'd said made any sense, or if it had even come close to answering her question. But before he could say anything more, Misaki had tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his lips to meet hers.

He knew that at least for now, they were on the same path together.


End file.
